Honor Flight DFW profiles and interviews

Ralph was inducted into the U.S.Army on May 25, 1942 at the age of 22. After training Ralph was assigned to the Army Air Corps.

Ralph’s specialty was radio operator/ gunner. He soon found himself serving in the Aleutian Islands, in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.

The Japanese actually landed on American soil early in the war. The islands of Kiska, and Attu were actually occupied for a time. The Aleutians were a strategic jumping off point for the Japanese. It was thought that the land bases would be perfect for the eventual attacks on the American west coast.

Ralph’s missions were anti-submarine patrol, and also air-sea rescue. It was known however, that if a pilot found himself in the frigid waters of the region, the chances were slim that he would survive the cold.

Ralph attained the rank of PFC. He received the Asiatic-Pacific Theater medal with two bronze stars. He also was awarded the Air Offensive Aleutian Islands Anti-Submarine wings. He also was the recipient of the good conduct medal.

He was discharged from the military on October 29, 1945.

Honor Flight DFW profiles and interviews

Jack was drafted into the U.S.Army and was inducted at the age of 21 on September 17, 1942.

He saw service in the western Pacific and was assigned to the 5^th AAF. He was a crewman on a B-24 Liberator. The “Lib” was a four engine bomber. While not as well known as the B-17 Flying Fortress made famous in movies, the Liberator had its fans too. The bomber could fly farther and carry a heavier bomb load than the B-17. But some pilots thought it harder to fly than the B-17, and landings on water could be tricky in the B-24.

This was all on Jack’s mind since most of the missions (38) that he participated in were overwater. Since the B-24 had a tendency to break up when attempting an emergency landing on water, the chances were not good that at least some of the crew would not survive.

Jack’s job on the bomber nicknamed “Milady, “was as a waist gunner. The missions were generally 10 hours long, and mostly without fighter escort since there were no fighters that could stay up that long. He says that each mission was “memorable.” Just making it back over the vast Pacific Ocean was a big thing!

Jack saw action in and around New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and other far flung locations all with the 5^th Air Force, 380^th Bomb Group, 531 Bomb Squadron.

Jack was awarded 4 air medals, good conduct medal, expert marksman, gunner wings, and a presidential unit citation. He attained the rank of staff sergeant.

He was discharged from the military on October 7, 1945.

Honor Flight DFW profiles and interviews

Marshall enlisted in the U.S.Army after being in the ROTC program at North Texas Agricultural College. He was inducted into the Army on June 10, 1943.

After stateside training, Marshall was assigned to the 98^th Infantry Division. This division was known as the “Iroquois Division.”  The division was activated on September 15,1942. The division went overseas on April 13, 1944 and served in Hawaii.

Marshall was assigned to the 6^th Army Headquarters, Hawaii and eventually attained the rank of Technical Sergeant 3. He had various jobs with the 98^th Infantry including rifleman, special services, and other duties.

The 98^th division was one of the first divisions to land on the shores of Japan after the surrender.

Marshall tells an amusing story of his landing in Japan. After wading in the ocean, after coming off his landing craft, in a cold downpour, Marshall saw his first Japanese citizen.

Marshall says that the Japanese gentleman was dressed completely in black. He was carrying an umbrella as well. Another soldier in Marshall’s unit went up to the welcoming committee of sorts the soldier asked “What do you say Tojo?” The gentleman in black simply replied “Nice day for a landing!”

Marshall was discharged from the Army on February 22, 1946.

Honor Flight DFW Profiles and Interviews

George was born in Madison Wisconsin in 1926. He enlisted in the U.S.Navy in May 1944 at the age of 17. 

George was an Aviation Radioman and served and trained on the Navy’s big flying boats, primarily the PBY Catalina, and the PBM Martin Mariner. He was stationed at various naval installations including Lakehurst N.J. and Banana River, Florida.

George’s many assignments while in the Navy were Aviation Radioman, naval air gunner instructor, and astronomers training unit among many others.

He served in the Atlantic and Caribbean theaters during the war. He served in air-sea rescue and anti-submarine patrols, searching for German U-Boats up and down the Atlantic coast as well as the Caribbean. George was involved in training and research/development in the then new science of sonabouy, and radio/radar research and development for the Navy.

One of George’s most memorable war experiences actually happened soon after the war ended. He was stationed at the time in Florida. He was involved in the search for the famous “Flight 19.” This incident has been chronicled in many TV programs, as well as the feature film, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” These were the naval aviators that were flying TBM Avenger torpedo bombers on a training operation over the Atlantic, east of Florida. This was also the plane that George Bush senior flew during the war. Flight 19 disappeared from history over the infamous “Bermuda Triangle” and the story has gone down in history as one of the many mysteries of the “Bermuda Triangle.” Ironically one of the airplanes that were also searching for the lost torpedo bombers, a PBM Martin Mariner flying boat, was also was lost during the search. Nothing was ever found of “Flight 19,” or the Martin Mariner that was searching for the ill fated flight.

George was awarded the WWII Victory medal, the American Theater medal, and was awarded a document from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for his service in WWII.

Honor Flight DFW Profiles and Interviews

Melvin always like the sea. He couldn’t see himself slogging through mud, but loved the thought of sailing the world. He joined the Navy on September 22, 1943 at the age of 17.

Melvin served primarily in the city of Manila Philippines. He was in a construction unit that was building a 1000 bed hospital. In the event of an invasion of the Japanese Empire, this hospital was to be used for the massive amount of wounded that were expected to be as a result of the landings. This invasion was tentively scheduled for the Fall of 1945, code named Operation Downfall.

Luckily Operation Downfall never happened. The Japanese surrendered after Hiroshima, and Nagasaki were hit by “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” in August 1945.

Melvin’s hospital was used as a destination for the survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. This ship transported the atomic bomb to the island of Tinian in July 1945. After leaving Tinian, the ship was torpedoed and sunk resulting in the tragic loss of hundreds of sailors. Because of the secrecy surrounding the mission involving the delivery of the bomb, no one noticed when the Indianapolis was over due to its arrival location. Tragically, the survivors were in the shark infested waters for many days before being spotted by a Catalina flying boat.

Melvin received the Philippines Liberation medal, and various other awards. He was discharged from the

Honor Flight DFW profiles and interviews

Canara joined the Marines on September 3, 1943 at the age of 18. His uncle at this point in the war was already a prisoner of war of the Japanese. Canara felt like that in joining the U.S.M.C. he was honoring his uncle who had been suffering at the hands of the Empire of Japan for years.

Canara was a tank commander in the Pacific. In the Marines, the tankers were considered an elite bunch, since there were relatively few Marine tank battalions. He was assigned to the 2nd Armored Amphibious Battalion.

While on Saipan, the 2^nd Armored Amphibious Battalion was attached to the 2^nd Marine division. The armored amphibious units were responsible for taking the Marines directly onto the beaches. They used many vehicles, one of which was an armored tracked vehicle. When in the water approaching a Japanese fortified beach, the vehicle would “swim” using the tracks to propel it forward. Once on the beach, the tracks would be used to propel the tank on solid ground.

Later, in other campaigns, Canara would subsequently be attached to the 4^th Marine Division during the invasion of Tinian. Tinian is famous for being the forward Pacific island that the bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, the “Enola Gay,” was based, and flew from on that pivotal mission that eventually ended the war in the Pacific. 

He would also be involved in the invasion of the island of Iwo Jima, this time the 2^nd Armored would be attached to the 5^th Marine Division. Canara would be in the initial assault wave taking the Marines on shore during the heroic battle that would go down in the annals of Marine Corps history.

April 2012 Dallas Police Shield

Dallas Police Shield April 2012

The new year of 1941 saw one of the most drastic, if bloodless, shake-ups in the history of the Dallas Police Department. This was according to an article in the DMN that seems vaguely familiar and of course has been done many times since this article was written. Shake-ups are nothing new .Just the rumor of one, real or imaginary cause’s aniexity among the ranks and much locker room banter. It falls under the catch-all term, “for the good of the department.” Many times in my career it was just that, a rumor. In Tactical, later SWAT, it seems like there was always a rumor that one squad or another would be done away with. Or one guy would mysteriously have been transferred since you last saw him yesterday. In the late seventies it had happened in a big way however, with several units being disbanded. That was the basis of many of us guys sweating out the daily details waiting for the dreaded announcement that never came.

Chief of Detectives Will Fritz announced the re-assignments of 22 detectives in the bureau. None of the detectives would lose their ranks, equivalent to a sergeant today, but many who had been in their jobs for years, or who had regular partners, would be given other assignments and associates.

Fritz said that the shake-up had the goal of more efficiency in the detective division, although the previous year’s record was exceptional. He said that the change was also aimed at “freshening” the viewpoint of detectives who may have grown stale in their particular jobs and to give them a more rounded experience.

The burglary and theft division, as well as the pawnshop detail, auto-theft, and bunko squads were all affected. Fritz went on to say that the transfers were not as a result of dissatisfaction and should not be seen as punishment.

Strangely, the Homicide Division was not affected.

On January 9, 1941 the DMN had an article that reported that the recent change in shifts, involving the “six detail plan,” has been abandoned. The cause was red tape, and the overlapping work hours resulted in “lost motion,” according to DPD. The new shifts would basically be the old shifts before the change. Chief Welch said that 23 patrol squads would cruise the city during the peak crime hours. Not surprisingly this was 5:00pm to 1:00am, much as it is today. Nothing changes much in police work. The basics are the same. The report didn’t say anything about the revolutionary “six detail plan,” or what it entailed. Or for that matter, what newly minted and or promoted whiz kid thought it up.

On a tragic note, the DMN reported that escalating racial issues in Dallas had gone violent. On January 14, 1941 they reported that two dynamite blasts had been reported between 10:00pm and 10:24pm on Monday night. These blasts occurred within four blocks of each other. One was at 2815 Metropolitan. While DPD officers were at that location investigating, another blast was heard. The other was found to be located at 4000 Myrtle Street. No persons were injured, but the blasts reportedly were heard as far away as SMU.  The neighborhood had experienced at least 6 bombings in the last 6 months.

The violence was a result of ongoing racial disputes between black and white residents of the area. Earl Jones, who was black, and was living at 4000 Myrtle, had been targeted several months previously by the unknown suspects. He was the unsuccessful plaintiff in a Federal Court suit in which an injunction to restrain the City from seeking to obtain his removal from the street was denied by Judge William H. Atwell.

Jones said that in this case, he heard what sounded like a bundle of newspapers land on his front porch. He opened the front door and saw a smoking fuse. He slammed the door shut and, with his family, ran out the back door just as the explosion blasted a hole in the front porch, buckled a wall, lifted the porch ceiling, and blew in the front door. Jones ran around to the front yard and saw a “old model coupe”

Santana, 5PM,August 16th, 1969. Blistering...

Honor Flight DFW profiles and interviews

R.V. enlisted in the Marines in November 1942 at the age of 20. He enlisted in this branch of the service because he believed that, “I thought the Marines were the best fighting branch of serviceman we had.”

R.V. was featured in the HBO series “The Pacific.” He also is the author of the book, “Islands of the Damned.”

After basic training, R.V. was assigned to the 3^rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, and 1st Marine Division. His unit eventually fought in the battles at Cape Glouster, and New Britain, both in the Solomon Island chain that included Guadalcanal.

Later R.V. participated in the ferocious battles at Peleliu and Okinawa. Peleliu was particularly tragic. Some historians believe that the heroic performance of the Marines was largely unnecessary. General MacArthur wanted Peleliu so the Japanese could not use the island as a base when MacArthur invaded the Philippines. Some high ranking military brass at the time believed that Peleliu could be by-passed, to wither on the vine so to speak, since the Japanese would no longer be able to supply its troops because its navy was being beaten at every turn.

R.V. and the other Marines knew nothing of this debate when they landed on Peleliu’s beaches. They fought heroically. R.V. at this time was a Sergeant over a mortal platoon. At one point, R.V.’s company was pinned down by a Japanese machine gun squad that was firing from a reinforced pillbox. R.V. made his way up to the pillbox, maneuvering all the way to avoid the Japanese fire. R.V. approached the pillbox and eventually killed 17 Japanese, effectively knocking out the fortified location and allowing the Marines to advance.  

In the spring of 1945, R.V. and the rest of his Marines landed on the island of Okinawa. This was the southernmost island in Japan. The Marines knew that the Japanese would fight particularly hard for this piece of their homeland since the next stop after Okinawa would be the invasion of Japan on the island of Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan.  This was to be called Operation Olympic, tentively scheduled for the fall of 1945.  

As R.V. and his fellow Marines feared, the Japanese fought with a ferocity not seen so far in the war. The Japanese had told the civilian population that the Americans were “devils.” Many civilians, Okinawan’s, Korean laborers, and Japanese killed themselves, many by jumping off seaside cliffs in sight of the Marines, rather than face capture. The Marines used loudspeakers in the vain attempt to convince the civilians that they would be safe.

R.V. was wounded on Okinawa and spent 20 days in a hospital. He was awarded the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star.

He was discharged from the Marines in 1945. He currently lives in Lancaster Texas.

Sadness cont.

The recent interview is of James, the last WWII interview that I've done. See below...

Sadness

One of my recent interview subjects, died saturday at Baylor in Dallas. The last time I spoke with him, this 92 year old was sharp, and remembered his time during the attack on Pearl Harbor with a memory that actually surprised me.
What I've found is that these memories have been suppressed for 60 odd years for most of these heroes
. When they find an audience that is interested, and kind of knows what they are talking about, the conversation flows...
I can't believe that this man died. Well, I can I guess. But it's hard. Those memories are gone. 

Johnny Winter Woodstock August 1969

He hit the stage about midnight, Monday August 18th right before Blood Sweat and Tears and CSNY...